


Under the Surface

by Ree_Dragon



Series: The Path of the Hero [1]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Female Agent 3 (Splatoon), Female Agent 4 (Splatoon), Female Agent 8 (Splatoon), Gen, Panic Attacks, Romance to come in later stories, minor use of OCs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26597896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ree_Dragon/pseuds/Ree_Dragon
Summary: The world is saved.  Agent Eight is on the surface and surrounded by friends who would do anything for her.  All the horrors she's experienced should be far behind her.Unfortunately, the past can't simply be ignored, and Eight's mind and heart can't be freed as easily as her body.  It seems that even paradise has its troubles.
Relationships: Agent 3 & Agent 8 (Splatoon), Agent 4 & Agent 8 (Splatoon), Agent 4 & Marie (Splatoon), Agent 8 & Callie, Agent 8 & Cap'n Cuttlefish, Agent 8 & Marina & Pearl (Splatoon), New Squidbeak Splatoon & each other really
Series: The Path of the Hero [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934917
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	Under the Surface

**Author's Note:**

> First off, to anyone that knows me from the Steven Universe fandom, I'm really sorry for disappearing. Life kept getting upturned, and...honestly, Future kind of ruined the whole series for me, and even thinking about it causes some level of anxiety. I know it's dumb but my brain almost never makes sense, even to me.
> 
> Now that that's out of the way... Hi! I'm excited to be here and excited to be writing regularly again. It's been...far too long. This story is meant to help me dip my toes into the world and set up my new fic series. Maybe I'll be able to carry this one farther than I was my Steven Universe series. I can hope, right?
> 
> I feel the need to clarify a couple things before we die in. First, the use of the octarian language is marked by < and >. Second, character ages:  
> Captain Cuttlefish: 130ish  
> DJ Octavio: At least 100...other than that, hell if I know  
> Pearl: 21  
> Callie: 19  
> Marie: 19  
> Marina: 18  
> Agent 4: 18*  
> Agent 3: 16  
> Agent 8: 16
> 
> *I know a lot of people say a 14-year-old Agent 4 is canon because the creator of the game said so, and that's valid, but Marie states that she's older than Agent 3 in the game itself, so this is what I'm going with.
> 
> One final note: I will be using OCs throughout these stories, but they'll be given as minor a role as I can manage. Most of them won't even qualify as characters, really, but they're needed to fill out the world a bit and balance out the gender ratios somewhat.

It should have been easy by now. She’d only done it about a thousand times, after all. Ride the rails, shoot the crates, be sure not to miss a shot and keep an eye out for the next railing as she neared the end of the current.

And it was easy…at first. The crates were sparse and the jumps easy. She just had to make sure to keep her mind from wandering, and she was fine. If the rest of the test was as easy, she’d have been able to move on hours ago!

Of course it wasn’t. Around halfway through, the crates were positioned closer to each other, some in stacks, on moving washers and around turns, beyond a grate she had to go octo to pass through so she couldn’t keep her bamboozler at the ready… She was getting better, reaching the final stretch of the test more and more often - there was even a time she thought she’d seen her goal, just out of reach - but the amount of times she ended up failing kept her from feeling any encouragement at her improving skills.

Agent Eight drew in a deep breath, held it a moment, and then exhaled, attempting to calm her nerves. It was going to be okay. She was going to get through this. She just had to stay calm and focused, right?

Right.

The octoling stepped forward, melting into her octo form as soon as she was on the launchpad and then reforming as soon as she landed on the rail.

The next several moments were a series of jumps and shooting, just like all her previous attempts. Marina’s, Pearl’s and Cuttlefish’s voices sounded in her ears, but she couldn’t focus on them and her task, so she willed her mind to tune them out. She’d make up for it in the next - hopefully easier - test. She focused on each crate as it came into view, having repeated this area enough to remember where each was in order.

She could do this. _Was_ doing this.

The first grate was up ahead. She melted into her octo form to pass through it and let her momentum carry her off the rail and onto the next one below. A quick charge and fire ended with the destruction of the next two crates as each moved to the right. Then a fuller charge took care of the large crate behind them, and she just had to—

—too slow. Her foot caught on the washer as she attempted her jump, throwing her off the railing and sending her into the abyss, her form exploding in a cloud of pink ink.

Then she was back, and she jumped up for another try…or attempted to. Something restricted her, and her movements sent her sideways rather than upward. She let out a surprised yelp as she fell, struggling against whatever was restraining her.

“Eight?!” The faint, familiar voice was accompanied by hurried footsteps and the creak of a door opening. “Hold on, let me help you out of that.”

Eight looked up to see Agent Four hurry into the room and kneel next to her. They were in a bedroom - not the metro. Okay, she was fine. She was free. She was _safe_.

She’d left the metro behind, and the Captain had arranged for her to stay with one of her squadmates until she could find her feet. She was in Inkopolis. If she looked out the window behind Agent Four, she could even see the pre-dawn sky and the outline of the buildings across the street.

“There.” Agent Four managed to find the edge of the blanket and started pulling.

“Thank you.” Once her left arm was free, Eight helped as much as she could, unwrapping the blanket until she could pull herself free.

“You okay now?” Agent Four wadded up the blanket and set it on the corner of the bed.

Eight climbed to her feet and took a moment to struggle with her grasp on the inkling language. The Captain had taught her the basics, and Four and her other friends were helping her fine-tune it so she could speak fluently, but the grammar and the more obscure words often eluded her.

“I’m…believing so. I just dreamed.”

An expression she couldn’t identify flickered across Agent Four’s features. “Kamabo?”

Eight nodded. “It was the ink rails this time.”

Four grimaced. “Well, you’re through with all that now, right? No more ridiculous tests or eternal train rides, and definitely no more wearing strange ink bombs on your back.”

Eight’s lower back twinged at the memory of the ink tank she’d had to wear back in the metro, and she rubbed at the area. She opened her mouth to reply, but a lump had formed in her throat and she couldn’t force any sound out, so she closed it again and gave her roommate another nod. More memories of the metro came to her, though, and she couldn’t stop the shiver that crept down her back

_< Ten-thousand-seven people_ _…and we’d have joined them if not for Marina’s quick thinking and Agent Three being right there… >_

No. No, she wasn’t thinking about that any more today. If she let herself dwell, she’d lose all her motivation, and she had too much she wanted to get done today to let that happen.

“Eight?”

Four’s voice brought her back to reality. It was weak, but she managed a smile. “I’m sorry. I know, it is done and over.” She walked to the dresser and started rummaging for clean clothes, setting aside a carnivore tee, a pair of simple black shorts, and a brown skirt to compliment them (a style she’d seen on some of the inklings in the square and taken a liking to). “I will not be having another sleep, so please use your bed today.”

Four laughed. “Thanks. Not too much longer - a couple more good turf wars and I’ll be able to order a bed for you, as long as you’re still sure you don’t mind sharing a bedroom.”

Eight nodded. “We are the friends, yes? I’m not minding if you’re not. I do wish you had kept your bed from the start. It’s not right for me to enter your space with no warning and use all your things.”

Four snorted. “Hey, which one of us was it that saved the entire world again? Trust me, you’ve more than earned it.” She reached out and lightly tapped the bridge of Eight’s nose. “Besides, it’s my bed. I get the final say of who sleeps in it.” She withdrew her hand and glanced down at the outfit. “Heading on out for the day?”

Eight nodded and gathered up the clothes. “I need to be finding a job, and I have no knowledge on how long that takes. Besides, when the sun is high up, square is being too crowded and the lighting turns harsh.”

“Just be sure to eat something soon,” Four replied. “Don’t forget your phone, and be sure to call someone if you get lost. Wake me if you need to.”

Eight bit her cheek to keep herself from laughing. She didn’t know why - it wasn’t really funny. Just…cute, maybe? “Four?”

Four frowned. “What’s up?”

Eight smiled at her. “I will be the fine. Please don’t have any worry for me.”

“Fine, fine.” Four yawned and sat on the bed. “I’ll be either here or Deca Tower if you need me. Have fun, all right?”

“You, as well.” Eight left the bedroom, closing the door as quietly as she could behind her.

_< Phew_ _…finally! >_ She loved Four - the inkling was kind, and a lot of fun to be around - but Four fussed far too much concerning her. The world was now visibly lighter than it had been - if she wanted to get to Inkopolis square and get through the bulk of her to-do list before the majority of the inkling population started waking up, she’d have to hurry.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Pearl had just about slept through her alarm. The late-night music writing session she and Marina pulled the night before had pretty much guaranteed she wouldn’t get a full sleep, but it had been worth it. Off the Hook was going as strong as ever, but they had to keep putting out that fresh content if they wanted to stay on top!

Besides, it was about breakfast time, and she could smell Crusty Sean’s dishes already! She quickened her pace, cursing her short legs and the extra time it took to get anywhere on foot. Unfortunately, she still hadn’t gotten the hang of riding her bike, and this was her favorite driver’s day off, so…walking it was.

At least the square was close to everything she needed today. Food, arcade, gear shops…she thought Salmon Run might have opened back up today too, though Marina was better at keeping track of Grizzco’s schedule than she was. Then there was Deca Tower, if she felt up to a few matches.

Or she could just get her shopping done and hang out in the arcade all day. Marina might like that. Then again, they didn’t get days off very often, between their gig at the news station, the concerts they played, or songwriting sessions. They needed to make the most of the time while they had it, especially since Cap’n wanted them at some meeting or whatever.

And all this thinking and planning was giving Pearl a headache. She needed to focus on one thing at a time. First up - food! And waiting on Marina, but that would give her bandmate plenty of time to catch up. Normally they reached Crusty Sean’s at about the same time, anyway.

And oh hey, was that…?

Yes, that was Eight! The octoling appeared out of an alley as Pearl neared the food van, and Pearl smiled and waved to her. “Ayoooooooooooo! Eight!”

Eight looked around until their eyes met and then waved back. “Pearl! Hello!” Then Eight’s gaze flicked behind the inkling, probably expecting to see her usual companion, but… “Is Marina not with you?”

Pearl gestured dismissively. “She’ll catch up. She just runs late sometimes. Usually when she’s about out of contacts.”

One of Eight’s eyebrows arched, but then lowered a moment later, her expression thoughtful. Huh…right. Only a few people knew that Marina needed those. Eight was definitely close enough to her to know at this point, but between getting her out of Kamabo, saving the world, and then getting her used to the surface, it wouldn’t have come up, would it? Well, now she knew.

And Pearl was starving. Time for food! “Aaaaanyway, I may as well order us some breakfast. What do you want?”

Eight’s eyes widened “I’m not wanting to imp—”

“Stop.” Pearl shook her head. “You’re my friend, Eight. If I want to buy you breakfast, I will.” 

Eight took a moment to answer, seeming to consider her options. “Well, if you’re so determined, I suppose a small anything would be wonderful.”

Ugh! Eight was trying not to cause trouble. Pearl knew that. Unfortunately, trying not to cause trouble just made trouble. Pearl was loaded - in cash and tickets - and there was nothing on Sean’s menu that she couldn’t easily afford. “You’re being way too polite, Eight.”

Eight cringed, and Pearl bit back a sigh. Maybe she’d been too harsh?

But then Eight spoke. “It must be a small portion or I just throw it up.”

Pearl’s features softened. Right. Eight barely had anything to eat during her time at Kanabo, and with no memories of her life before that, who knew when she’d last eaten before everything went down. It was bad enough to make her body unused to taking in food, so they had to reintroduce her to regular eating slowly.

“Ah…I gotcha. I know just the thing, so why don’t you grab us a table while I get us something to eat.”

Pearl approached the van, leaving Eight to find a table where she’d be comfortable. There was no line. Barely anyone was even up and about right now, except for the shopkeepers and a few jellies. Because of this, Pearl was able to order their food quickly - a crusty seanwich for herself, a basic waffle with whipped cream and syrup for eight, and an orange juice for each of them - the good kind, with the pulp. Then she located Eight and carried their breakfasts to the table she’d chosen, setting the octoling’s food and drink down in front of her and her own stuff on the opposite end of the table.

“Rina also got sick a lot when she first started out here.” Pearl sat down and took a bite out of her seanwich. “I used to think it was her getting used to city food after life in the country, but after learning just where you came from? Everything that ever confused me is making too much sense.” 

Not that she was an expert in octarian life, but she knew probably more than she was happy with. Everything about it bothered her, but what got her the most was the use of hypnotism to control the people. What kind of shithole must the octarians come from where they had to be hypnotized to be obedient?! It was _sick_!

And that whole time Pearl had been up here, taking the sun and food and entertainment she enjoyed completely for granted. She scowled at her breakfast for a moment before taking another bite, ripping and crushing her food more than chewing it. “Anyway, anything that’s basically bread is filling, and it’s not as horrible as other things if it comes back up.”

“Thank you. I’m appreciating this very much.” Eight ripped open the cutlery packet on her plate and dug out the fork. Pearl watched as the octoling scooped up some of the whipped cream to taste and then started cutting up her waffle. “At least we’re enjoying the surface now?”

Pearl nodded at that and set her seanwich down. “Yeah. Thank cod! And, on that note, how’re you settling in? Roommate and the Cap’n treatin’ you okay?” 

“They’ve been the great.” Eight finished cutting her waffle into pieces and started eating it. “The Captain is liking us octolings now, at least those of us that defect, and Four’s introducing me to all the kinds of music. It’s nothing as fresh as Off the Hook or the Squid Sisters, but it’s exciting to be hearing everything.” She paused, staring down at the bite of waffle on her fork before setting it down. “I do wish we were having more awake time together, but I am so sleepy when the sky goes dark.”

“You’ll get there, if you really want to,” Pearl assured her. “It gets easier the more you acclimate to surface culture.”

“I hope so,” Eight replied. “I want to fit into the city.”

“You’ve already managed that as far as I can tell,” Pearl stated. “How many friends do you have, now? Like, seven? And that number includes members of the two freshest bands in Inkopolis! You’re learning the layout of the streets you actually use to the point where you seem to have gotten here without help today. Your grasp of the inkling language is getting better every day. And you’ve become good enough at Turf War to start paying for your own stuff. Your outfit today’s totally fresh, by the way, but we’re going to have to get you something better when you’re ready to take on Ranked.”

“I’m liking these clothes,” Eight replied. “I was buying this shirt with the first shells I earn.”

“And it still works if you’re just wanting to Turf or look cute,” Pearl assured her. “Keep gaining experience in the matches to get qualified for Ranked, and you’ll see what I mean.” Something on Eight’s wrist glinted as she took another bite of waffle, and Pearl frowned at the yellow band that was still tied there. “You know, keeping those Kamabo tags probably isn’t doing your mental health any favors.”

“They…are not coming off.” Eight gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and held out her wrist so Pearl could get a better look. The tag itself was dented and stained with something Pearl probably didn’t want to identify, but what got her hissing were the scars around Eight’s wrist. It looked like she’d tried both cutting and burning the thing off without shielding her skin when the knife or flame inevitably slipped away from her, and the bruising around the area indicated that she’d also tried pulling the thing apart.

“Holy _fuck_ …” Pearl drew in a deep breath, and then shook her head. “There’s gotta be some way. Tell you what, hang around the square tomorrow and we’ll give her a call after we’ve finished recording news segments for the day. I’m sure Marina’ll have some ideas. Is your ankle this bad?”

Eight shook her head. “The arm is fail. For the leg, I don’t try.”

“Yeah, good idea.” She was pretty sure that damn phone had died, but if it ever figured out how to come back from death, Pearl was going to send it straight back to Shell where it came from. And she needed a change of subject before either of them ended up too upset to function. “So what brings you out here today? More sight-seeing?”

“I’m hoping for a job,” Eight responded. “I know I have the Squidbeaks, but they do not pay, and Turf War is not counting.”

Pearl snorted. “Jobs are overrated. Being stuck on a schedule is the absolute worst!”

“But I want to be part of Inkopolis,” Eight protested. “I see these shops and their people, and everyone is doing something for everyone else. It’s nice.”

“Saving the world wasn’t enough contribution for you?” The look on Eight’s face gave Pearl a clear answer before she got the first have of her question out. She turned in her chair, staring past Ammo Knights at the Grizzco building. “I don’t know about the other places, but Grizzco’s currently open, and when they’re open they’re always taking in new faces. Why not try a shift or two and see if it suits you? It definitely feels like work, and there’s pay involved. You work as part of a team of four, too, so there’s the community aspect you’re looking for.” Though that also made it sort of like Turf War…but there wasn’t the second team of four trying to sabotage things, so maybe the differences outweighed any similarities?

Eight nodded. “I’ll give it the shot. Thank you.”

“No problem.” Movement caught Pearl’s eyes then, and she glanced up behind the octoling as a young boy, maybe even a little younger than Eight, walked into the square. He was still old enough for Turf War, so that wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was his hairstyle - a sort of mohawk-styled tentacle with the suction cups on the outside. A glance at his eyes and the flesh-toned space between them confirmed it. Octoling, just like two of the best people she knew. “Eight, have a look!”

Eight spun around, and her gaze lingered on the boy. Their eyes met, and Eight waved. Pearl grinned and waved as well, happy to welcome another octoling to the surface. He looked from Eight to Pearl and back, but then his eyes widened and he retreated behind a nearby building. A couple moments later, an inkling girl around the same age dragged him back to the square, her single long tentacle bouncing in her excitement as she led him toward Shella Fresh.

Well, that sucked. The first octoling Eight got to see since Marina and he was too skittish to come say “hi”. But then… “Some of them would be a bit jumpy out here, after everything.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Eight turned back to Pearl. “I’m glad to be seeing another who escaped.”

“There’ll be more where he came from,” the inkling assured her. “Give it time, and there may be as many octolings as inklings populating Inkopolis.”

Eight giggled. “That, I would very much like to be seeing.”

A loud noise sounded near them, and Bomb Rush Blush started playing from Pearl’s pocket. Pearl set the ringtone for each of her contacts to a specific song, and Bomb Rush Blush meant it was Callie trying to contact her.

“Weird time for her to call…” Pearl pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit a button. “Ayo, Callie! What’s—”

“Hey, Pearl, sorry to wake you. I’m with Marina, and we’re…kind of sort of near the plaza. Do you think you could come meet us? Uh…now, rather than later?”

_Oh, no._ “You didn’t wake me, but what happened?” 

“Nothing bad!” Callie responded quickly. “I mean, not too bad. I just distracted her at a very wrong moment, and her glasses are kind of in pieces in the trash now. I wouldn’t mind helping her to wherever you are, but I’m running late to therapy as it is.”

Pearl sighed. Well, better that than other reasons for Callie to need her over there ASAP. “Yeah, that sounds like her. Be right there.”

Pearl put her phone away. “Sorry, Eight. I gotta go take care of Marina.”

Eight was staring at her, frowning, her eyebrows furrowed. “Is she in a trouble?”

“She’s fine.” Pearl stood and straightened her skirt. “She fangirled too hard and broke her glasses. Callie’s with her now, but she’s got some kind of appointment and can’t stick around for long.” She grabbed the remains of her sandwich and downed her juice. “You gonna be okay on your own?”

Eight nodded, grinning. “Go be tending to your girlfriend. She has the need of you.”

Pearl made a noise between a cough and a snort. “She’s not my girlfriend.” Although… But no, those were thoughts to have later. “Aight, I’m off. Catch ya later!” She waved and dashed off, taking the quickest route she knew to the plaza.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Agent Three wasn’t above a little hard work. In fact, she’d say she had some of the hardest work in Inkopolis. What could be harder than fighting back a horde of octarian soldiers and then defeating their boss basically all by herself? Or putting up with Marie’s obsession with using soap? Or enduring a multi-month research trip?

Okay, maybe that last one had been unintentional, but it had still been her reality. And yeah, she’d been brainwashed and crazy for a little bit of it, but an hour or two hardly counted in the face of weeks! And even if it did, that was still her body that was being put through everything, so work was still being done.

However, something about Salmon Run had put her off until now.

She wasn’t sure what it was. The place gave off a sketchy vibe, but honestly? So did Captain Cuttlefish, and he turned out all right. The whole idea of the job - what she understood of it, anyway - was to splat salmonids and steal their eggs before their numbers grew large enough to overwhelm the various species on the mainland. Seemed like a just enough cause.

And yet, she just couldn’t muster the desire to join Grizzco until she’d gone through her cabinets and realized that she’d eaten the last of her food. Well, other than all the rotten stuff she’d neglected to throw out. She’d get to it…eventually. She needed to buy more, though, and she needed money for this and last month’s rent, and Four assured her that Grizzco paid better than Turf War.

So…here she was, now with basic training and a few shifts under her belt. And…it wasn’t too bad. Not at first. Her coworkers for the first two shifts had been focused and reasonably competent, and they’d managed to collect enough eggs to satisfy their unseen employer. Her third shift was a little harder - one of her teammates had managed to injure herself badly enough to require an emergency superjump back to the boat halfway through, and the rest of the team barely managed to gather the amount of eggs Mr. Grizz had asked for.

Now she was on the boat, waiting for the rest of her coworkers to join her. Maybe this shift would be like the first two, and she’d walk out of Grizzco with enough money to cover rent and groceries. Then she could go home and catch up on some of that “sleep” thing that seemed to be all the rage with kids these days. Or she could give her apartment a much-needed cleaning.

_Or you could give_ yourself _a much-needed cleaning._ Marie’s voice popped up - unbidden - in her mind, as clear as if the Squid Sister was standing right next to her. Clearly, she’d spent too much time with the pop duo, but they were all in the same splatoon, so it was far too late to remedy that mistake.

Two inklings approached the boat together - a boy and girl with enough similarities in their faces to be siblings or cousins. The boy gave her a quick nod as he boarded - a polite gesture she returned - while the girl simply ignored her and moved to the other end of the boat. Three narrowed her eyes at the girl - not even started yet and she was already a problem.

That was three total workers…usually the shifts had four people, right? So where was—

“Sorry! Sorry!” Their final teammate ran toward the boat, waving as she boarded. “I was forgetting my locker code!”

Three stared at the newcomer, eyes widening. She knew that weird syntax. She knew that _voice_. And, sure enough, there was Agent Eight - the unseen hero of Inkopolis and Three herself - decked out in the same ugly, oversized uniform they all had to wear.

The standoffish girl that had boarded snorted. “Wow, I almost understood two words of that.”

Aaaand this shift officially sucked before they’d even left the dock. Nice. Three shot the girl a glare, but the girl had pulled her phone out and was busy with…something. Texting, a game…Three didn’t care. Meanwhile, Eight and the boy were exchanging introductions, and she left them to it, taking a seat at the far end of the boat. She wasn’t much for conversation, anyway, and if Eight wanted to make friends then Three certainly wasn’t going to stop her.

_Okay, we_ _’re here…let’s just get this over with._ She wasn’t going to count on the other inkling girl for anything. The boy might or might not be a help. Eight, at least, was a freaking beast - Three hadn’t seen the octoling’s skills for herself, but she knew that Eight had thoroughly kicked her brainwashed ass and then completely inked a massive statue in less than three minutes - so they should at least be able to pull through with the bare minimum of eggs their boss asked for, even if the two of them were the only ones pulling their weight.

The boat finally started to move, and Three’s attention turned to the water. Water was weird…watching it move was simultaneously soothing and terrifying. It wasn’t annoying, though, so it was a definite improvement over…certain company.

A shadow fell over her then, and she glanced up to see Eight - damn, but she looked weird in clothes that actually covered her body - staring down at her.

“May I be joining you?” the octoling’s expression was…unidentifiable, but nervous was probably part of it, the way her mouth twisted weirdly around her smile.

Three scooted over. “Sure, but what about your new friend?”

“He is with…” Eight’s voice trailed off and her expression became thoughtful for a moment, before she shook her head and gestured to the far end of the boat. The siblings-or-whatever were sitting together, talking…though their faces more suggested an argument than casual conversation. Occasionally, one or the other would throw a glance their way, and Three had to resist the temptation to smile and offer a one-finger salute when the girl of the pair was the one looking. Eight was right next to her, and she didn’t think the Captain would be happy with her teaching the octoling some of the more vulgar aspects of inkling communication.

Three knew she should respond to Eight in some way, though, so she nodded. “You ever done this before?”

Eight shook her head. “I have been through the training, but this is being my first real shift. Should…should I have the nerves?”

Three shrugged. “It’s not like the Bad Place, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She didn’t feel like she needed to clarify - Kamabo would be on both their minds. That place was… Three shook her head. Salmon Run now, get pissed at the past later. “You basically go through three waves of salmonids attacking, and you have to help collect a certain amount of eggs. It’s only hard if you have bad teammates or worse luck.”

Eight nodded. “I’ll be doing my best.”

“Yeah, I know. Me, too.”

Three turned from her companion to the water. Up ahead, she could make out their battleground on the horizon. Looked like they were being sent to Lost Outpost this time. If Three remembered right, it was basically a dilapidated building surrounded by old docks. Not a great place to hang out - she’d felt much safer back in the domes two years ago - but at least they’d be in and out pretty quickly once the waves started attacking.

The two agents were silent for the rest of the boat ride. Eight was breathing very deliberately, Three noticed. Was she really that worried about this? How was she going to handle fighting against her own kind?

Maybe she just needed to do a shift to see that this wouldn’t be so bad. Three hoped that was all, anyway. She was no good at this social stuff. Not unless it involved Captain Cuttlefish. That man had a weird way of lowering a squid’s mental walls and worming his way into something akin to friendship. Or maybe it actually _was_ straight-up friendship. Shell if she knew.

The boat stopped, and weapons were assigned - slosher, in her case - before they all superjumped to the outpost. They landed dead center in the middle of the building, having flown right through the non-existent roof. Three started inking the nearest wall of the building from the floor to the window - escaping through the window had saved her a splatting in one of her previous shifts. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Eight doing the same to the floor, and Three joined Eight as soon as their potental escape route was secured. The boy with them seemed to be following their lead, but the girl had opted to lean against the egg basket instead.

Yeah… Three knew what to expect with _that_ one.

The horn sounded, and Three left the building through the nearest opening, her gaze scanning the docks in front of her for any sign of salmonids. They tended to come up out of the ocean in the same area, for some reason, but that location seemed to be random.

“This way!” The boy called from somewhere to her left, and she melted into her squid form, swimming through their ink to the opening he had taken before reforming in front of the mess of nets and solid platforms. Already, chums and cohocks had started making a mess of what little safe space was available. Of course. Of course they’d attack from the area that required the most caution.

With a sigh, Three ran forward, sloshing ink at the nearest group of chums before heading to the next. Better try and take control of the situation before things became even more of a hassle. She continued splatting whatever salmonids were unlucky enough to get too close, keeping an eye out as she did for the arrival of any boss salmonids.

She reached a solid platform and sank into the ink for a couple seconds to refill her tank. When she emerged, she could see Eight and the boy charging toward a Steel Eel that must have emerged from the water while she was refilling.

They wouldn’t need her help. The Eel had chosen to chase Eight, who was doing her best to keep her distance while leading it toward the building, probably in the hope that their remaining coworker would help. This left its tail - where the pilot’s seat was located - open for the boy to attack, and he was already almost in range. They may even defeat the thing before she could get anywhere near it.

She joined them anyway. Boss salmonids dropped three eggs, and if she didn’t collect the extra one, the salmonids would.

The girl was still at the basket when the trio returned to drop off the eggs. This led to an argument between her and the boy, and Three gestured beyond the pair to the opposite exit. Eight obeyed, and Three backtracked. If they covered opposite ends, it would take less time to find another boss salmonid.

Maybe.

Her own side of the outpost seemed clear, so she made her way around the building, swimming through trails of her team’s ink when possible and taking out any salmonids that got too close.

A blast of green ink shot through the area, narrowly missing her. Cries of surprise could be heard from her coworkers as she looked around to pinpoint the source of the blast. That had definitely been from a Stinger, so her gaze was lifted upwards, searching for a tall stack of pots.

Ah, there, and it was already shrinking - meaning at least one of her teammates had found the thing already. She headed toward the building.

“Three?” Eight’s voice sounded through her communicator, unusually quiet. “I’m really sorry, but I could…um…be using the help?”

“You by the stinger?” Three asked, stopping briefly to ink a fresh trail over the stinger’s ink - or whatever it was - and head around the corner. “Ah, never mind. On my way.” She could see the life ring with the octoling’s soul leaping around a power egg inside, with more power eggs on each side of her. Near her, their male coworker was charging toward the stinger, so Three had a moment to focus on her fellow agent.

Three started sloshing at the life ring as soon as she was in range - not as efficient as bombs, but she knew damn well that bombs would be a terrible idea. The octoling reformed, holding the power egg that had been sitting in her life ring, and she thanked Three before she returned to the building to drop it off while Three rushed to the aid of their coworker. Stingers, at least, were pretty easy. Just slosh at the cookware until the salmonid on top was in range. With the two of them working together, it seemed like only a moment or two before the salmonid was defeated and another trio of power eggs littered the ground.

“That was…the experience.” Eight’s voice was shaky enough to be noticed even through the communicator. Three winced at that. What had she been through?

“Any time. What got you, anyway?” Three grabbed the nearest power egg and headed back to the basket. Eight was in the middle of grabbing her second, and the so-far useless teammate rushed toward the eggs from the stinger. So now, she wanted to be useful, huh?

Well, whatever.

“It was the Maws,” Eight answered. “I was not paying the best of attentions to my feet, and when I noticed, I had time only for dropping the bomb…”

Oh. Ouch. Eight’s own bombs may not have harmed her, but Three was sure the memory such an act would bring up was far from pleasant. “Why don’t you stick with me or your new friend for the rest of this? It’s easier that way, anyway.”

Eight made a sound. Three couldn’t tell if it was a whimper or a nervous laugh. “I am thinking I must.”

“For what it’s worth, you did good for your first time,” Three tried to assure her. “This wave’s pretty much over, and we already have more eggs than we needed. Think you can handle two more?”

There was a brief pause, followed by a sigh. “I will be doing my best.”

The first wave ended moments after the last eggs were dropped into the basket. The second and third waves were a little better. The unfamiliar girl still spent most of her time near the egg basket, but she would be sure to come out and grab exactly one egg per wave…which, honestly, made her even more annoying than if she’d simply lazed about for the entire shift, but Three didn’t care to berate ehr for it. Not in front of Eight.

At least the boy was willing to try, and the three of them had more-or-less learned how to coordinate with each other by the end of the third and final wave. And they earned enough eggs at the end to make their mysterious employer happy. So…mission successful, or whatever.

The group superjumped back to the boat, and Three sat down as far away from the unfamiliar girl as she could get, deflating as much as her kid form would allow and closing her eyes to try and shut out as much of the world as possible. Even though she’d really only had one bad teammate, this shift felt far more draining than all the others combined.

This was definitely her last shift of the day, and she damn sure deserved a promotion.

She remained like that for a good few minutes, vaguely registering the sound of voices at the opposite corner of the boat but otherwise only paying attention to the movement of the waves under and around her. She was going to get out of here, buy some food, and…hm…she should probably check in with Captain Cuttlefish at some point, and see how he was holding up.

Weight settled in to her right, and she cracked that eye open to see Eight sitting beside her, arms folded over each other and gaze staring off into the distance. Three frowned - Eight had been mostly cheerful and friendly in the week that she’d known her - amazing, given the fact that Three had tried to kill her more than once. Today she’d been…well…still friendly, but also a little off, especially after the Maws attack.

“You all right?” Three wasn’t the most social person in the world, and she didn’t like chatting up random people. Eight wasn’t random, though, and Three at least did her best to look after her fellow Squidbeaks. Even assholes like Marie, and especially sweethearts like Eight.

Unfortunately, her question may as well have never left her mouth, for all the reaction it got. Eight continued to stare at something unseen beyond the boat, as silent as when she’d first sat down.

Okay, Eight wasn’t all right. Three reached out and tapped the octoling’s shoulder. “Hey. What’s up?”

Eight flinched at the contact and her gaze snapped to Three immediately. For a moment, there was a wild glint in her eyes that reminded Three of the octarians she’d faced off against a couple years back.

Only for a moment, though. Eight blinked, and it was gone. She then smiled at Three, straightening her posture and placing her hands on her knees instead. “Sorry. What am I missing?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Three replied. “I just wanted to know how you’re holding up.”

“I…” Eight started to speak, but then trailed off almost immediately as she seemed to think better of it. “I am getting better. Thank you, Three.”

Three arched an eyebrow at Eight, not believing her. Eight didn’t say anything more on the subject though, so Three let it slide. Maybe Eight wanted to just forget about it. They wouldn’t have that luxury in agent work, but for something like Salmon Run? She could oblige.

“You should probably relax as much as possible for the rest of the day,” Three suggested, instead. “What’ve you found to do here that you enjoy?”

“I am very much liking the music,” Eight responded with a smile. “Also the company, and experiencing the fresh air. But… It will be a while before I am allowed any relaxing - I am needed at the Captain’s.”

Huh. Right. She forgot about that. “Fair enough.”

She wasn’t sure what else to say, and Eight seemed preoccupied, so the conversation died there. Three did her best not to worry about the octoling. This was Eight after all - the badass who made it through eighty sadistic tests, defeated Three herself when that phone managed to hijack her mind, and then went on to save the world with the members of Off the Hook while Three was knocked unconscious. Now she was on the surface, where she was free to make her life into whatever she wanted it to be.

Three could remind herself of that all she wanted, but the more the silence stretched on, the more noticeable it became, and the more the worry nagged at her.

It wasn’t until after they were ready to head their separate ways - after they’d docked, changed out of their work uniforms, and received their pay - that Eight spoke to her again, and then it was only to exchange farewells, the octoling’s gaze still focused on something beyond Three. The inkling watched her fellow agent until she stepped onto the manhole leading to the outpost and disappeared through it.

Then she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number, waiting for the inkling on the other end to answer before speaking.

“Hey, Callie? You’re at the outpost now, right? I need you to do something for me…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day wasn’t near over yet, but Marina felt like she’d lived about a week since waking. Having a day off recording news broadcasts was always nice - she did have fun with it sometimes, but got boring repeating the same conversations so often. A surprise meeting with Callie had been exciting, but it had come at the cost of her old glasses, and getting new glasses and contacts was always a hassle.

And now that fresh new eyewear was obtained, they were on their way to a secret outpost to be made official agents of The New Squidbeak Splatoon - the force she directly fought against a few years back. Working with Craig and Agent Eight would be nice, she supposed, but a certain two other members of the splatoon made this whole thing seem dreamlike. When she’d first arrived on the surface, she’d never have thought that she’d end up befriending the singers who freed her, let alone taking their place as Inkopolis News hosts or performing concerts together. The fact that they’d be doing _agent_ work together on top of that was…well…it was beyond words. Beyond even imagination.

“Rina? Rina! Breathe!”

A hand gently gripped her arm, bringing her back into reality and guiding her around a corner into Inkopolis Square. Marina let out the breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding and gave her companion a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Pearlie. I just…this is all unreal!”

Pearl stared up at her. “You literally helped take down a living phone that tried to use a statue with a gun in its mouth to destroy the world, and _this_ is unreal?”

“I know. It doesn’t make sense to me, either! At least, not in a way that I can put into words…” Marina paused for a moment, trying to think of how to word her thoughts. It didn’t help that inkling wasn’t her first language, though she doubted she’d be doing any better in octarian. “But the Squid Sisters were already incredible, you know? To add all…this to it, I just…” And now words were failing her completely.

Pearl released her arm and gave her hand a squeeze instead. “Yeah, I get it, but they’re your friends now. Hanging out with them should feel normal.”

“I don’t think hanging out with the Squid Sisters will ever feel normal.” She stopped near Ammo Knights and stared down at the manhole cover. Was this really the way to get to the outpost? She was no stranger to weird dimensional spaces, but it seemed out of place for an Inkling city to have something like this.

“Aight, what’re we waiting for?” Pearl let Marina’s hand go and took a couple steps away from her to stand on top of the manhole. She then melted into her squid form and passed through the cover.

“Pearlie—” Too late, she was gone. Marina took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before standing on the manhole cover herself and following her bandmate.

Even though Tentakeel Outpost was quite a distance away from the city, it took only moments to reach it from the manhole. Pearl was already in her kid form when Marina emerged, staring around at their surroundings. Marina joined in, noting how much smaller the place was than she’d been imagining. Cuttlefish Cabin in particular looked barely big enough for one squid, and Marina wondered how Craig and both his granddaughters managed.

_Well_ _…Callie and Marie do have their apartment in town…_ If this was meant to be more of a camp or rest stop than actual living quarters, they wouldn’t need much space, would they? Maybe Craig also lived in town? Or maybe he just didn’t want or need much in a living space. He was an…interesting squid.

“Ida…”

Cold stabbed its way down her back as a deep, masculine, _familiar_ voice right behind her growled her name.

_Oh. Oh no._ She turned around—

—and, in that time, Pearl maneuvered in front of her, attempting - and failing - to shield her from view of the octarian leader.

“Marina’s off limits.” The snarl in Pearl’s voice was obvious. “If you want her, you have to go through me.”

_Not that he can do much from inside an oversized snow globe_ _…_ But seeing Pearl so protective of her anyway did make her hearts skip a beat or three.

<Hiding behind inkling children now, are we?> DJ Octavio glanced from Marina to Pearl and back, his expression unreadable. <I expected better of you.>

“All right, you were warned.” Marie - clad in a black kimono and lacking her usual hairpiece - approached the snow globe at a brisk walk and threw a tarp over it. “Take a nap or find some other quiet way to pass your time.” Marie turned her back to the snow globe, either ignoring or not understanding the rather impressive string of octarian curses directed at the three of them.

“That was Octavio, wasn’t it?” Pearl leaned to the side as though trying to look around Marie at the covered snow globe. “What’s he doing here?”

“Jail isn’t exactly an option, with the octarian menace being largely secret and all.” Marie started toward the cabin, gesturing for them to follow. “This will have to work until we can manage something better. Unfortunately, we’ve been a bit…short-handed since octarian activity increased, and now that certain things have come to light…” Marie shook her head, sighing. “Let’s just say we’re grateful for the extra hands.”

“We can’t just chill while more octolings like Rina and Eight’re suffering,” Pearl replied. “Besides, Inkopolis is our home, too. We can defend it, so why shouldn’t we?”

Marina nodded in agreement with Pearl’s words. “It’s really an honor to be working with you and Callie, even outside of music.”

Marie gave her a small smile. “For us, too. And, now that we have a certain combat engineer on our side, we’re looking forward to getting past the octarians’ more troublesome tech with fewer splattings.”

Marina froze, her insides tightening painfully. She let out a tiny squeak in lieu of the words she wanted to say, her throat too restricted for speech.

_You know?!_ But of course Marie knew! Craig had her file and Callie and Marie worked with him against the octarians. Why wouldn’t they know? Her gaze flicked back to the snow globe containing her former leader. Would something like that have been in store for her if Pearl hadn’t been around to defend her? Not that she didn’t deserve it - she’d directly contributed to a lot of the trouble the octarians caused up until two years ago.

Pearl squeezed her hand. “You’re okay, Rina.”

“You’re not in trouble for what you did under hypnotism, and we have no knowledge of any crimes committed by Marina of Off the Hook.” Marie assured her. “We do know who you were, though, and the more we know of Combat Engineer Ida’s designs, the safer our missions can be.”

Marina nodded, the pain in her insides easing a bit. “Of course. I need some time, but I was already planning on drawing up the blueprints and stat sheets of everything I had a hand in creating. That’s not to say they haven’t made improvements in the past two years, and I wasn’t involved in everything, but it’s a start, and I’ll be happy to have a look at any current octo tech we’re able to get our hands on.” Marina took a deep breath. “It’ll be nice to actually start making up for some of the bad I’ve done.”

“It’s not your fault, Rina.” Pearl smiled at her. “You’re still the best person I know.”

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re both wonderful.” Marie stopped in front of the cabin and turned to face them. “You know, I don’t think I got to thank you yet for taking care of Gramps. So…thank you. I don’t know what I would have done - what _we_ would have done - if the unthinkable happened.”

Pearl shrugged. “We couldn’t just leave him there. Or Eight…” She glanced around. “By the way, has she been around? I saw her in town earlier so I figured she’d beat us here.”

Marie gestured to the archway that led to more floating platforms over the canyon. “Callie took her somewhere quiet to show off a couple Li’l Judd videos she found this morning.”

“As though she doesn’t get to see him literally every day she enters the square…” Pearl muttered.

Marina giggled. “She is rather fond of that kitten.”

“It’s hard not to be.” Marie glanced in the direction of the archway. “I should let Callie and Gramps know that everyone’s here and ready. Back in a moment.” She headed back inside the cabin, leaving Marina and Pearl to themselves.

Pearl let go of Marina’s hand and gestured back to the snow globe. “Hard to believe _that_ _’s_ the big boss of the octarians.”

Marina nodded, her insides tightening at the reminder of how close they were to the leader of the octarian army. “He…uh…seems a lot more intimidating when he’s not being housed in a snow globe.”

Pearl nodded. “What was he saying to you, anyway?”

Oh, right. Octavio had been speaking to her in octarian. Of course Pearl wouldn’t have understood. With that realization came the surety that Pearl wouldn’t take his words well, though, and she definitely wanted to avoid that fight. “It…ummm…doesn’t translate well.”

Pearl narrowed her eyes at Marina. “If it’s bad, you can just say so.”

“Umm…” Marina was saved from having to utter more than that when two shadows sailed overhead, morphing into the familiar forms of Callie and Agent 8. The two landed neatly in the center of the clearing.

“Marina! Pearl!” That was all the warning they got before the younger octoling charged right for them, wrapping them both into a tight hug and nearly knocking them off their feet. Marina laughed and returned the hug, and Pearl struggled against both octolings for a moment, until she had freed her arms enough to do the same.

<The Squid Sisters are even more amazing than you’ve told me!> Eight was beaming right at Marina. <They were both super nice to me when I arrived, and seemed really happy when I told them how their music inspired me, and did you know Callie’s fluent in octarian? She’s been hanging out with me ever since I got here, and she’s been treating me like we’ve been friends for years! I knew they were cool, but I didn’t know they were _cool_!>

Pearl stared at the girl, brows furrowed in confusion. “Uh…Eight? Buddy? You’ve slipped into octarian, and I have no idea about anything you just said.”

“That’s probably my fault.” Callie joined the trio near the cabin. “She still struggles a bit with inkling, so I figured she’d be more at ease if we used her native language for a bit.”

“Sorry.” Eight released Pearl and Marina from her hug and backed off a few steps. “I was saying that the Squid Sisters are the amazing, and they’ve treated me with much kindness.”

“And why shouldn’t we?” Callie grinned and patted Eight’s shoulder. “Anyone who helps out our Gramps and rescues our darling Agent Three more than deserves it. Besides, Gramps recruited you, and that means you’re one of us now.”

“Right, and on that note, let’s get this meeting underway.” Marie was back. How long had she been back?

Callie’s gaze drifted toward the manhole. “It feels kinda weird not having Three in on this…”

“Agents Three and Four are meeting here early tomorrow morning.” Craig exited the cabin, leaning heavily on his bamboozler as he walked around the cabin to the bench and sat down. “I want to make sure they have the opportunity to get well-rested.”

Eight frowned. “This is the new member introductions, though, yes? It does seem like she could be the present…”

“Orientation, actually,” Marie corrected. “Though I suppose the terms are similar enough. Four’s already an official member of the splatoon.”

Craig nodded at that. “You’ve done well with her, Agent Two. Between you and Agent One, I have no doubt that the Splatoon will be in good hands after I’m gone.”

Callie frowned at the old inkling. “Which won’t be for a good while yet, right?”

Craig smiled at his granddaughter. “I have no intention of kicking the bucket any time soon.” His attention shifted to the younger octoling. “Agent Eight, are you comfortable with this designation? We can bump you up to Agent Five.”

Eight shook her head. “I am liking being Agent Eight. It’s fitting.”

Craig smiled at her. “Thought I’d make sure.” His focus shifted to Marina and Pearl. “As you’ve no doubt figured out by now, every member of the splatoon is referred to by number while on duty. This will apply to the two of you as well. Do you accept this?”

“Of course,” Pearl replied while Marina nodded. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t.”

“I figured as much, but it’s only right to make sure,” Craig replied. “Normally, you’re assigned the lowest available number upon joining - with Agent Eight being a special case - but the two of you are joining at the same time, so do either of you have a preference for Five or Six?”

“Pearl can be Agent Five.” Marina smiled at her bandmate. “She’s been my guide through surface life since the two of us met, so it’s only right.”

“Well, I mean, I don’t mind either way.” Pearl was staring at her with an unidentifiable look that almost - but not quite - matched surprise. “I’ll be out there fighting against injustice no matter what my number is.”

Marina giggled. Pearl really was the coolest. “Plus, Five is much closer to your height.”

Pearl snorted and waved dismissively at her. “Yeah, yeah… Five works for me.”

Craig nodded. “Welcome aboard, Agents Five and Six. You too, Agent Eight, though you’ve been in the splatoon for a little longer.”

Callie cheered and punched the air. “I’m so glad the splatoon’s getting bigger! Now this place won’t seem so empty all the time.”

“And now we hopefully won’t have another issue with research trips taking way too long,” Marie commented. “With seven members, Gramps should be able to bring two or three agents along.”

“As long as there’s not a second K-word out there causing trouble, I don’t think that’d be an issue anyway,” Pearl replied.

Marie sighed. “We can hope.”

“We will need to put the three of you through some training soon,” Craig - Captain Cuttlefish to her now, Marina supposed - stated. “In fact, we may also have to take both Three and Four through the paces again. The times have changed, and it’s time for the New Squidbeak Splatoon to change with them.”

“Our old goal was to keep any octarians from invading Inkopolis and to fix any damage they cause if we fail,” Callie chimed in. “But…” She glanced right at Marina, and then at Eight. “Certain things have come to light, and…umm…”

“It turns out that they’re brainwashed and crazy, and normally they’re more likely to want to hug you than splat you if they get their free will back?” Pearl supplied.

Marie nodded. “Something along those lines.”

“It’s not easy for someone of my generation to admit that they’ve been wrong about octarians, but now that my eyes are open I can’t just sit back and watch a race of innocents suffer,” Captain Cuttlefish stated. “We still oppose those loyal to Octavio and his schemes, but the two of you escaped, and I’ve been informed that there are others to be found in the square. That means there could well be other octolings still in the kettles, trying to break free.”

“Wait…” Marina’s hearts hitched, and she looked between the trio of squids that now served as her commanders. “You mean we’ll be going on rescue missions?”

Pearl beamed at the Captain. “Wow, Cap’n, that’s actually really fresh of you.”

Eight, however, was frowning. “I do wish to be helping my people, but we will have to splat many octarians to get to the ones that wish for freedom…”

Captain Cuttlefish nodded to her. “I won’t pretend agent work is easy. You will have to fight, and there may come a time when you find yourself battling someone you used to consider a friend.” His gaze flicked between Eight and Marina at that, and Marina nodded. She’d prepared for that possibility when she’d consented to joining the splatoon.

“It was specifically the Calamari Inkantation that broke you out of your hypnotism, right?” Callie asked. When both octolings nodded, she continued. “It shouldn’t be hard to free the others that’re working for Octavio because of that. We just need to make sure everyone with a phone has our song on it.”

“The real problem’s going to be those that remain loyal to Octavio after they’re freed,” Marie cautioned. “For such octolings, no amount of listening to the Inkantation is going to make them friendly. If it did, Octavio himself would cease to be a problem.”

Marina frowned. “I can’t imagine anyone that would willingly choose to live the way we were forced to. Not when they know that there’s something better waiting for them.”

“We should still prepare for the possibility,” Marie responded. “You’ll have to be cautious, even with octolings that seem friendly. At least until we know their motives for certain.”

“Here’s hoping more are for us than against us,” Pearl responded. “It’s not fair that we’ve been able to grow up with all this,” She gestured vaguely at the sky and Inkopolis in the distance, “while they’ve been enslaved underground. I bet most of them weren’t even alive for the war, at this point.”

“From an octarian’s perspective, the war never stopped,” Marina pointed out. “But you’re probably right - nearly everyone we’re likely to find will have been born and raised underground.”

Captain Cuttlefish nodded. “We may not be able to change the past, but we can at least correct our mistakes and create a bright future for both inklings and octarians.”

Pearl stretched and straightened her posture. “When are we starting all this, again?”

“You’ll be sent on a training mission in a couple days,” Marie answered. “After we’ve worked things out and gotten organized.”

“Though your day jobs do come first,” the Captain added. “We’re trying to run things as lowkey as possible, here.”

Callie turned to the old inkling. “Do we really need to be so secret now, though? I mean, once enough octolings have made it to the surface, everyone’s gonna know that they didn’t wind up going extinct. Those octolings are gonna end up making friends with inklings, too, and then everyone’ll know what happened to the zapfish, anyway.”

“So far, everyone seems to think that octoling tentacles are a weird hairstyle fad.” Marina laughed. “It wasn’t really my intent, but I managed to hide under that assumption for two years, and I think most of our fans still think I’m a squid.”

“That is a fair point,” Callie conceded. “Inklings will believe what’s easiest.”

“No, you guys are smarter than we gave you credit for,” Marina responded. “But believing a certain species to have gone extinct means you’re not going to think that this weird squid that looks a bit like an octopus might actually be an octopus.” She glanced from the Cuttlefish trio to the manhole. “I’m actually surprised you two didn’t do anything about me, though.”

“Callie didn’t know anything about Off the Hook until recently,” Marie responded. “I figured out your race right away, but it took me longer than I’d like to admit to figure out that Off the Hook’s Marina was _the_ Marina Ida. I kept an eye on you, but you never made a move to harm anyone in the city, so I had no reason to confront you. Especially not with Gramps, Callie, and Agent Three off who-knew-where.”

“At least we have everyone back now,” Callie replied. “I’m really looking forward to our missions from now on. Actively saving people is a lot easier to deal with than simply holding the line.”

“Indeed,” Captain Cuttlefish responded. “I will need to dismiss everyone soon so you can rest up and prepare, but there is one more matter we need to discuss, and the sooner we get to it the better. I hate to bring this subject up with you, Agent Eight, but I’m afraid it’s important.”

Eight’s face visibly paled at that, but she nodded. Marina’s insides clenched painfully, and she saw Pearl tense up out of the corner of her eye. They both knew exactly what Captain Cuttlefish was referring to, and the serious expressions on the Squid Sisters’ faces implied that they were just as aware. Marina supposed the Captain would have told them at least a little bit about the testing facility in the past week.

“Yo, are you sure this is absolutely necessary?” Pearl asked. “That place was really messed up.”

“Agent Eight is far more familiar with the inner workings of the testing facility than any of the rest of us,” Captain Cuttlefish pointed out. “She’ll be able to give details that the rest of us might have missed.”

“Why do we need to know so much, though? It’s not like we—” Pearl’s eyes widened. “You’re going back, aren’t you?”

The Captain nodded. “We need to make sure Tartar’s plans have stopped with his deactivation, and see if we can figure out a way to reverse what’s been done. And, if not…putting those poor souls out of their misery would be the best kindness we can offer.”

_The sanitizing_ _…_ Marina shivered at the memory of all those poor octarians, stripped of their lives and their free will and yet somehow still shambling around in that horrible place. And poor Eight, who had to point a weapon at beings that she may have known before her memory was erased. She couldn’t imagine how that must have felt.

Eight was very pale now, and visibly shaking. Marina placed a hand on the younger octoling’s shoulder, wanting to offer support in whatever way she could. Pearl stood and moved to Eight’s other side, wrapping an arm around her and murmuring some sort of encouragement that Marina didn’t quite catch.

“I’ll be doing my best.” Eight managed after a couple shaky breaths. She turned to Marina. “I might be needing the help? I am having a difficulty finding what I am needing to say in Inkling.”

“Don’t worry about inkling,” Callie replied. “Give it to us in octarian and we can translate it.”

“Actually, hold on a moment.” Marie got up and headed back into the cabin, returning a few moments later with an old tape recorder. “You don’t mind if we record this, do you? That way, you’ll only have to go through it all once.”

Eight shook her head, and Marie set up the recorder, placing it near the octoling.

“Remember, this isn’t an interrogation,” Callie stated. “You’re just helping us out in a huge way here.”

“Whenever you’re ready, Agent Eight.” Captain Cuttlefish’s tone was soft and kind, far from the commanding one he’d possessed until now. But of course - it was hard to put poor Eight through all her trauma a second time, no matter how much good it could amount to.

It took Eight a couple moments to start talking, but once she did she didn’t stop. Her words were just slow enough to be understood - she was apparently trying to get this over with as quickly as possible. Most of what the younger octoling said, Marina remembered, and she shuddered at the memory of all the times Eight struggled or even failed a test. Of course Eight actually going through it had been worse than her and Pearl watching from a phone screen, but it was never pleasant to see someone get splatted, let alone over and over.

Eight’s voice faltered from time to time as her story progressed, and her breathing became a bit more difficult. Marina bit her lip, torn between stopping her and letting her continue. Eight was very clearly fighting a panic attack, but what if talking about it was good for her? Marina remembered talking about some of her own trauma with Pearl - as much as she could without disclosing her species - and it had helped even when the subject was painful. Maybe she should just trust Eight to know her limits?

Eight got through her narrative about the testing, and reached the part where all the thangs were gathered, and the blender was assembled. Her cheeks were wet, and she was struggling to breathe at this point, much less find words even in octarian for the horror she experienced.

“That’ll be enough, Agent Eight.” Captain Cuttlefish nodded to Marie, who turned off the recorder. “We can work off my memory from here. Thank you for doing this for us - I hope we won’t have to make you revisit those memories again.”

<I’m sorry!> Eight sniffed and wiped at her eyes. <I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I could handle this back when it was happening, but the more I think on it…> A sob escaped her. <It’s so horrible! I can’t…I can’t…>

“Shh…it’s okay. You’re gonna be all right.” Pearl may not have understood octarian, but she still knew how to offer comfort, and she wrapped her arms around the younger octoling.

Eight buried her face in the inkling’s shoulder and started crying in full, her entire frame trembling. Captain Cuttlefish stared at her a moment, looking very much like he wanted to say something, but then seemed to think better of it and limped into the cabin without another word, followed by his granddaughters.

“Nothing’s wrong with you.” Marina - speaking in inkling for Pearl’s benefit - rubbed Eight’s back, wanting to help but unsure what else she could do for her. “Trauma just does this. It’s natural and understandable. I had my own moments when I first moved up here, and I didn’t even go through Kamabo to earn them. Pearl’s right, you’re gonna be okay. You’ve actually held up amazingly well.”

“Yeah!” Pearl smiled at her. “I don’t know how I’d react if I found out all that green goop that kept covering me was—”

“Pearl.” Warning lanced Marina’s tone. As it was, Eight’s crying had increased, and her trembling had grown severe enough that Pearl was starting to shake with her.

Pearl cringed. “Sorry. What I mean is, you’re really strong, Eight. We’re all proud of you.”

Callie approached the trio a short while later, holding a cup of tea in her hands that she held out to the octoling. “I need you to drink this. You’ll feel better.”

<Thank you…> Eight pulled away from Pearl and carefully took the cup. <It smells delicious.>

“It’s peppermint tea,” Callie explained. “Helps me when I’m having a rough day, so maybe it’ll help you. Inklings and octolings aren’t that different. I have a small stockpile. If you can hold out until tomorrow, I’ll bring some over.” She grinned. “Or have Marie do it so she has an excuse to visit Four.”

Eight took a deep drink of the tea. <I…>

“It’s getting late,” Marie pointed out before Eight could form her words. “I think we’ve covered everything we intended to. Agents Five and Six, you are dismissed.” She smiled, and Marina had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop her inner fangirl from escaping. “And once again, welcome aboard.”

“We’re happy to help.” Pearl’s gaze didn’t leave the younger octoling, however. “Yo Eight, you doin’ any better?”

Eight sniffed and sipped from the tea before giving a nod. <I think…> She coughed a couple times. “I will be managing. I will do my best to be controlling this better.”

Marie patted her shoulder. “You were fine. You gave us everything we needed and more, so thank you. We’re only sorry to make you remember everything all over again. If there was another way, we’d have pursued it.”

Eight shook her head. “I am understanding very well, but reliving hard memories is a little price to pay. You are the Squid Sisters - you’ve given me everything good I have. That is a debt I think I cannot repay in full, but I would like to be trying.”

Callie giggled. “Seriously, Eight? You’re the reason Gramps made it back to us safely. As far as I’m concerned, we’re more than even.”

Marie gestured to the cup in Eight’s hands. “Finish your tea, and I’ll walk you home. There’s someone I’d like for you to meet on the way.”

Pearl’s fingers closed around her hand. “Come on, Rina. We have some songs we need to get finalized before the next splatfest.”

Marina nodded. Tonight had been made mostly free since they weren’t sure how long the meeting would take. This was probably their biggest chunk of free time for the rest of the month - they should take advantage of that. “We’ll see you tomorrow, all right Eight?”

Eight smiled and nodded. “I hope the rest of your night will be going well.”

“Yours, too.” Pearl waved at her and led Marina to the manhole. Marina offered a final wave before the two sank into the manhole and headed back to Inkopolis Square. Loathe as she was to leave Eight so soon after a panic attack, there was no need to worry. The kid seemed to have gained quite the support group here on the surface. She’d be fine.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She loved her role as a warrior of justice against an oppressive regime. She loved her splatoon and the little family it was becoming. She loved that she was making a difference, even if the general population would never see a hint of her work out there. She loved M…

She loved her life.

Battling against randoms in ranked, though? That was a slog. Necessary if she wanted to improve when her friends were unavailable, but a slog all the same. A combination of bad luck and teammates who didn’t even seem to be trying - and okay, one girl new to the rank who clearly was trying but needed a lot of practice - nearly resulted in her losing her rank, and at that point she lost all will to continue for the day.

At least she’d made enough money to take care of groceries, and finishing up her battles early meant she was able to get those groceries and return home before dark. That meant she’d have time to hang with Eight before the octoling was ready for bed.

It also meant she’d gotten to the store at peak shopping time, so she’d managed to wear herself out. She should have no problem resetting her sleep schedule tonight. Maybe she should put on some music to ease the process further?

Maybe, but first she needed to put stuff away. Four set her bags on the kitchen table and rummaged through them, setting each thing aside depending on where it was stored. It was mostly frozen foods - things that would either last a long time and not be too filling for Eight to eat in one go or things that could be reheated for multiple servings. She’d also bought some meats and veggies, cereals, and probably just enough chips and chocolate to counterbalance any healthy food. Well, they didn’t have to eat it all at once, right? Though they probably would… The last bag contained a package of cookies for her and Eight to share as soon as she got home. These were left on the table, and the bags were folded up and set atop the fridge.

Phew…chore done. And she’d somehow managed to beat Eight home. That meant she’d be here if the octoling needed her - the poor girl looked shaken when she’d woken up, and she’d already had more than one panic attack in the week that Four had known her. Maybe Four should have gone with her, but she did need the sleep, and she knew Eight would be with friends for at least part of the day…

Maybe Four should just fix her schedule so she actually slept at night. That would save the octoling from getting overwhelmed by herself and it would save Four a lot of worry.

Her phone beeped, cutting through her thoughts and bringing her back to the present. She pulled it out of her pocket and unlocked it, opening…a video? From Marie? Huh, okay. What was this about?

In the video, twin columns of pink ink shot up from the ground, originating from an inkjet. Targets were blasted and destroyed, and the inkling manning the inkjet went…wait…

That was an octopus dropping halfway to the floor. And when they reformed, still held aloft by the inkjet…

“Eight?!”

The inkjet ran its course, and Eight hit the ground running, charging right to a new set of targets with her dualies firing. At one point, she got just close enough for Four to see her face clearly, and Four giggled. Eight’s brows were furrowed and eyes focused in pure determination. The “fang” on her upper beak had caught her lower lip, making what might have been an intimidating expression rather silly instead.

Well…at least she looked like she was having fun.

A series of messages appeared under the video, and she paused to read:

_Agent Two: Took Agent Eight to Ammo Knights and got her talking to Sheldon. Biggest mistake of my life.  
_ _Agent Two: They get along_ _…a little_ too _well. He_ _’s impressed with her, and she seems to enjoy his prattling.  
_ _Agent Two: She got excited about finding a weapon she could use with the inkjet sub. Of course, he_ _“just so happened” to have a “recent shipment” of items that “had yet to be tested”. She’s been at this for well over an hour.  
_ _Agent Two: I don_ _’t think Eight’s looking for work anymore.  
_ _Agent Two: I_ _’ll bring her home when she’s done. Might be late - don’t wait up._

Four smiled at the messages. It was just…so like Marie to take care of her people.

She should answer, shouldn’t she? She brought up the keyboard on her phone and started typing:

_Agent 4ever: No problem. Thank you so much for looking out for her. It means a lot to the both of us._

It only took a moment for the replies to start again:

_Agent Two: Of course. Eight is a treasure.  
_ _Agent Two: And Callie and I owe her for looking out for Gramps after he and Three got separated.  
_ _Agent Two: I_ _’ll need to go to bed after I drop Eight off. Callie has an interview tomorrow morning and she’ll need support. Then Gramps wants us to do some recon work in the kettles.  
_ _Agent 4ever: That_ _’s fair.  
_ _Agent 4ever: Good luck, and tell Callie I_ _’m rooting for her!  
_ _Agent Two: Will do. Goodnight, and stay fresh.  
_ _Agent 4ever:_ _‘Night, and you too._

So it’d be a while before Eight got back. She supposed she’d just have to surprise the girl tomorrow. Four plugged her phone into its charger and curled up on her couch, making herself as comfortable as possible. Everyone she loved was safe, and Eight’s rough day was going to end on a good note. The octoling was with Marie, after all, so there was nothing to worry about.

Those thoughts eased her into a deep sleep.


End file.
